Are advertisers trying to reach Hispanic consumers putting their money in the wrong places? That’s the very real question raised in two new reports from eMarketer, the digital research company, which examine Hispanic ad spending and Hispanic online demographics. The reports point out that Hispanics are heavy digital media users and tend to adopt innovations earlier than non-whites, like cell phone cameras. They also note that Hispanics under age 35 spend more time online than watching television. Yet advertisers targeting Hispanics spent nearly two-thirds of their budgets on television and just 5 percent online. Complicating the issue of marketing to Hispanics is language. Many Hispanics speak both Spanish and English, and thus advertisers often assume they have seen English-language advertisements targeted to a wider population. Lisa E. Phillips, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of the reports, talks to Media Life about targeting Hispanics, the ad spending disparity, and what this group is doing online.
 
How much time do Hispanics spend online in relation to other media? In relation to other demographics?
 
In relation to other media it breaks out along the age 35. People over age 35 tend to spend a little more time with TV. People under 35 spend more time on the internet and less time with TV. But generally it’s like a coin toss between the internet and television, meaning both are heavily used.
 
I’m not exactly sure if that’s similar to other demographics, so I couldn’t really say right now.

Why is so much of Hispanic-targeted ad spending still concentrated on traditional media?
 
Even in mainstream media that’s the case, advertisers are still grappling with using TV for mass marketing. But they’re still not sure where people are online.
 
In this economy they’re asking where’s my print budget going? Online I could put an ad on DrugStore.com and put products there and maybe get better results than, say, a Spanish-language magazine.

People say the internet is the most easily measured medium, but you also have to know what you’re measuring.

Why is it so hard to measure ad spending targeted to this audience? 
 
It’s because it’s measured in one language for the most part. Spanish-language media is obviously consumed by Spanish-speaking people, but advertisers have taken to targeting bilingual people in other media where they know there will be intersection.
 
I would say web sites that are predominantly English are now adding Spanish-language pages. And if ads get placed there they’re hard to track. Also, just putting a Hispanic person in an ad doesn’t mean it’s targeting Hispanics, although some marketers may think that’s the case [laughs].
 
There are so many different cultures within the Hispanic community, but under our marketing umbrella of Hispanics, we say they speak Spanish so they’re Hispanic.

How much is Hispanic-targeted ad spending complicated by the language issue, i.e., marketers may think some bilingual Hispanics are already seeing their English-language ads?
 
It complicates targeting this demographic about the same as it does with Asian Americans who speak native languages. Marketers do think Hispanics are already seeing their English language ads, so they may be missing some of this market. They may be missing some of the nuances between cultures with the Hispanic community.
 
The American marketing community seems to think that language is the biggest barrier, but really it’s understating all the things that go into the market such as whether they are foreign born, how much of their family is here, etc.
 

What's the most important thing media buyers and planners can take from your reports?
 
The first thing is probably what they’ve heard, that it is a dynamic and growing market. But they should realize it’s not necessarily a population of immigrants any longer. It will be driven by those who are born here. Spanish may be what they speak at home first, but they may go out and be completely bilingual, yet they’re still proud of their heritage.
 
And they’re also very into technology. So reaching them through cell phone ads and so on about things that matter to them is more effective than it is for a general audience.

Much of the community aspires to own a number of consumer electronics, and in many cases, especially the younger demos, they feel they’re leading a lot of change in American culture, in terms of electronics but also music, taste and so on.

How do Hispanics multitask among media?

Pretty much the way anyone else does.
 
When watching TV they’ll be online or reading a magazine or newspaper. Again, the internet and TV seem to intersect much more. So when reading a newspaper perhaps they’re listening to the radio.
 
They also listen to a lot of web radio while surfing and actually stream radio stations online. And that’s something a lot of younger people are doing across all demos.

What types of digital media do Hispanics consume? 
 
Well, the internet, obviously, and surfing the web. Listening to web radio. They have a lot of MP3 players, and music is a very big thing.
 
And cell phones. Hispanics and African Americans tend to have more phones with cameras than other groups. As far as younger demos go, they’re much more into going to events and being with people and taking a lot of pictures. And then also sharing them online.

What do Spanish-speaking Hispanics do online? 
 
I’ve seen how much time Hispanics are spending online, but it’s harder to tell what they’re actually doing.
 
Spanish-speaking people using the internet will go to sites that cater to them and their interests, and they’re probably interested in being in contact with people from their native country.
 
There is evidence from one study that says Spanish-speaking internet users have more blogs than others, which I found interesting.